Split Personalites
by 20 minutes
Summary: Scarlett and Nicko are geniuses in certain subjects. Others...not so much. But when they get scholarships to Gotham Academy, things start to change. While one starts to fight crime, the other becomes the crime - except they don't know about each other.
1. The Scholarshipers

**Disclaimer: I'm too busy ruling the world to own YJ, so... I don't.**

**Yeah, so this is a bit of an inside joke. My best friend is Nicko, and I am Scarlett. It all started when we got Batman capes from an amusement park...(flashback). Mhmm, so, here it is!  
**

* * *

The shooting from three months ago is still all over the news. I can't even turn on the TV without seeing the pictures of the dead plastered to the screen.

I quickly change the channel, but my mother's smiling face has been etched into my mind already. My eyes threaten to pore over with tears again, but I blink them away and focus on the television once more. It's another news station and they're talking about yet another unsuccessful heist at a major Gotham bank. "The amazing Batman and the Boy Wonder have done it again, and life is normal once again," the announcer says in his annoying, nasally voice.

I resist the urge to throw the remote at the screen, scowling. _Life is not normal, and it never will be. _I'm so sick of hearing about the stupid Justice League, and their stupid victories over the baddies, and how they don't seem to have a stupid flaw in them. They're just so stupidly _perfect_.

At least, until something bad happens and they can do nothing to stop it. Then they aren't so perfect anymore. Last month, said something bad actually happened. And said perfection was ruined.

_It is an amazing, beautiful Friday evening with a darkening blue sky and everything. Mom and I had just finished school shopping and are walking back home when the roar of a way-over-the-speed-limit-kind-of-speeding car whizzed past us, echoing out bangs every few seconds. I turn to Mom to gauge her reaction to it, but I don't see her – until I look down. _

_She's covered with a dark scarlet liquid that's pouring from her body. Scarlet blood. I never hated my name as much as I did then, because it was all over my mom, draining away her life._

_I scream, dropping our bags full of treasure on the now-bloodied ground. I don't even hear the sirens over my fear and my sobs. I'm dragged away, fighting, from my mother's lifeless body, being told by a stranger in a blue uniform that it was too late. They wouldn't have to do surgery or give her medical attention._

_When I look up to the roofs, as if my mother was up there instead of under a sheet, alive and well, who I see instead changes my view on everything completely. _

_The silhouettes of the Dark Night and his pet bird, watching the scene unfold, are plainly visible in the still darkening skyline._

Don't get me wrong, I didn't always hate the JL. In fact, I loved them. I looked up to them. They were invincible to me.

Until they watched my mother be murdered and did nothing to stop it.

"Scarlett!"

The voice of a certain short brunette girl jars me out of my memories. I glance at the screen before turning to my best friend. "I was just seeing how our…economy was doing… before heading to school, Nicko," I lie, extremely unconvincingly at that.

She gives me a doubtful look. "Yeah, right; I know that politics and economy bore you to death, you little liar." She throws me my bag, but it's a poor toss and it goes too far to my right, heading straight for the Home's display case of trophies and other fairly breakable things.

Time slows down, but so does my lethally-heavy backpack of doom, until it's literally floating in midair. I breathe a sigh of relief and my hand falls from my temple. I snatch my seemingly magical bag like it was a normal thing to do.

That's right. I have telekinesis. It's pretty beast. I think that I've always had it, but I just realized that I was the only one I knew that could do it. I've only told two people: Nicko and Mom. But, seeing as just one of them is breathing…

"Nice!" my friend exclaims, racing down the stairs and high-fiving me. After checking to make sure that no one was around to have seen the scene **(A/N Heh, see what I did there?)**, we sprint down the hallway and out of the door.

The walk to the high school is short, only a few blocks away from the Home. This year, we're freshmen in the prestigious Gotham Academy, even though we're orphans. Let's just say that Mr. Bruce Wayne is _very _sympathetic to the Home for some reason, especially if they have two fourteen-year-old girls with exceptional skills – Nicko has martial arts and any type of science, while I have algebra and archery. The odd thing was, we never signed up for the scholarship, but Mrs. Thomson, our care taker, had said that it was a wonderful opportunity to make a new start. I wanted to tell her to go jump in a well, but of course I couldn't.

Within ten minutes, we were at the gates of the school. We had both been going to the normal high school of North Gotham for about two weeks until we got the notice that weekend, so today was our first day in the school for preps.

I tug on the hem of my skirt. It was _way _to short for my liking, but Mrs. Thomason told me not to object. I roll my eyes and let go of it, turning to Nicko. To simply describe how she looked, she was amazed. "Close your mouth," I whisper as an older girl, maybe a sophomore or a junior, walks up to us.

"Hi!" she greets, "I'm Bette Cane." She points to Nicko and says cheerfully, "and you must be Scarlett," she points to me, "and you're Nicko."

Nicko laughs a little, and I correct Bette. She looks a little sheepish, but gets over it and tells us to follow her. She leads us to a small group of teenagers, just four in all counting her. The only one that looked our age was a short boy with messy black hair and captivating blue eyes. "This is Dick. He's in your grade, so he'll be showing you around to your classes." We shake hands with the scrawny boy, who then hands us our schedules after glancing at them.

"Advanced algebra, huh?" he asks, looking impressed. "And at the same time as me, too." We both smile, but then he turns to one of the girls. She had golden hair as well as grey, Asian eyes. She was pretty tall and looked fit. "Artie will have to show you to the archery range and Nicko to the mats, though. I can't say that I go there often." Not unbelievable – he didn't exactly seem the type to work out or fight at all.

The older girl sticks out her hand. "Artemis."

We shake, and so does Nicko. She looks pretty overwhelmed with all of this, but before we can ask any questions, the bell rings. "Come on, then," Dick calls, walking towards the East entrance of the building. "I'll show Nicko to her classroom, and then we'll go to algebra, alright?"

Nicko and I nod and say in unison, "Sounds like a plan." Dick looks back, amused. My friend and I glance at each other and grin, but we both turn our attentions back to him as we stop at a large wooden door. "Well, here you go!" he announces gesturing to the classroom in front of us. We peer inside, awestruck.

Rows and rows of lab tables, chemicals, Benson Burners, and everything else that a science geek would love lined the walls. Plenty of kids walk around with aprons and safety goggles on, waiting for the bell to ring again so they could start class. I turn to Nicko, and so does Dick. "She looks like she's feeling the aster," he comments, but at our blank stares he only chuckles.

Nicko walks in, awe in her eyes, but before I can see anything else Dick grabs my wrist and drags me away. People stop and stare at us as we go by, whispering. I'm suddenly very self-conscious and I snatch my hand away from him. He looks back, frowning, but says nothing and we keep going.

In all, the trip from Nicko's classroom to ours takes a minute, maybe two, but it feels like twenty the way we kept getting weird looks. I wince as a group of what looks to be snotty rich girls burst out laughing, much louder than needed, casting me filthy sneers.

Dick notices my unease and tells me not to worry about them. "They're just mean girls with rich daddies under all of that makeup. They'll get what's coming to them sooner or later." He flashes me a knowing grin that leaves me confused, but before I can ask he stops in front of me abruptly and I almost run into his back. Dick glances at me, as if checking to see my reaction. "Are you going to be OK?" he asks, searching my eyes.

I furrow my brow. Why would he ask me that? Unless… I gaze past him, finally noticing that we made it to the classroom. I feel the blood drain from my face and my brain begins to have second thoughts. _What if this was all a joke – a horrible, terrible joke on two girls with nothing left to loose but their dignity? We didn't apply for the scholarship. Who's to say that it wasn't a big mistake? That it was meant to go to different kids, kids more deserving than us? What if nobody likes me here, even less than anyone from before the accident?_

"Scarlett? Are you alright? Should we just go in?" Dick's voice drags me out of my worries. His amazing blue eyes capture me and he waves his and in front of my face. I give him a weak smile and a poor, "I'm fine," of which he doesn't buy but doesn't argue.

He leads me into the large room, filled with normal school desks – yet they still somehow find a way to make them look a little more expensive. Maybe it was the way that the kids sitting at/on them were rich and looked the part, even in uniforms. The walls of the classroom are littered with random, occasionally funny posters. A giant white board fills almost a whole side, while another has three windows with amazing views of the courtyard.

The teacher, a short young woman in a blue skirt and a white blouse with light brown hair and kind eyes, glances over to us, then back to the class. Then, quite like a Saturday-morning cartoon, she does a double-take, smiling softly as the bell rings. "Mr. Grayson, please have a seat." Dick gives me one last wink and sits down in one of the middle row desks. "You must be Miss Johansson. I'm Mrs. Woodland, and welcome to Gotham Academy."

I give her a polite little wave and a smile, my face burning. Everyone was staring at me. "Please have a seat by…" Mrs. Woodland trails off, searching for an open seat. "Chris. Chris, raise your hand." A kid with dark blond hair and dark eyes holds up his hand in the third-to-the-last row, just a desk behind Grayson. Not unlike most of the other students in the class, he's older than me by at least two years, but he's short and nerdy with big glasses. I sit next to Chris with a quirk of the corners of my mouth

Class starts, and already I'm excelling. I'd always been great at algebra, but I never thought of it, really. It just came easily to me, just like science did for Nicko. Speaking of Nicko, I wonder how she's coping with the prestigious science class.

The back of my head burns. Someone's staring at me. Again. I glance up from my almost-completed worksheet to find that it's some older girl, probably a senior, who sits to my left. I cock my eyebrow. "Can I help you?" I ask softly, afraid to hear her answer.

She never replies, just goes back to her work and so do I. But I can tell that she goes back to looking at me every once in a while, and though her gaze never stays for long, it bothers me nonetheless.

Not long after the staring incident, I finish my algebra. Setting down my dulled pencil, I get up to turn it in. Mrs. Woodland looks up in surprise, but takes my paper. I seem to be the only one done. Even Dick has just started on his last question, entirely absorbed into it.

I glance at the clock. I still have a hearty ten minutes left – good thing that I brought The Hunger Games to read.

* * *

I stare absently into the slide show playing on the screen. I had already learned this from the internet. In fact, I had watched the exact same slide show on the web. Don't get me wrong, I adore science, but you know how it is when you have to "re-learn" something that you already know.

The girls behind me chatter softly about "The Avengers." I'd already seen it with Scarlett. Though, it seems that I saw it for a different reason than these girls, as they talk about who's the hottest and the most likely to end up with a ruined career and how they saw it six times just to watch so-and-so.

I roll my eyes and sigh as the side show ends and the lights flicker back on. My teacher, a nice man named Mr. Robertson, hands out a packet to everybody. "This is your major project for these nine weeks. You and a partner are to design a small ecosystem consisting of a producer, two primary consumer, at least one secondary consumer, a decomposer, and two abiotic factors. Get with a partner now to decide what type of biome you shall create." Everyone scrambles to get with their friends, but I just sit there, suddenly lonely. Oh, how I wish that Scarlett were here. Though, she probably wouldn't have gotten through Mr. Robertson's second sentence without having her brain collapse. She's pretty useless when it comes to science projects, and she knows it, just like I couldn't use algebra to save my life. Or archery, for that matter.

Looking around, I realize that I'm not the only one without a partner. A guy, probably around my age (most of the kids in Advanced Science are at least two years older than I am) was looking around for someone, but seemed defeated. I wonder if he always ends up alone…

Without realizing it, I'd approached him. So, after deciding that not much in this scenario could end horrible, I plop myself down in the desk in front of his. He seems pretty shocked that I would even come near him, but doesn't question it. I hold out my palm to him. "Nicko."

He looks at it carefully, as if expecting a trick of some sort. But, in the end, he takes it and shakes, smiling. "Jason Todd, at your service."

We get to work, planning out our project while chattering away about random subjects. Turns out, we work pretty well together, and he's not that bad of a dude.

"So, how do you feel about the Justice League?" he quizzes, looking at the packet.

I grin, showing off my teeth. "They're great, I mean, what's not to like?"

* * *

**Yep! They - we - have met Dick and Jason. I wonder how many of you actually know who Jason is...if not, watch Batman: Under the Red Hood. Its pretty sad.**

**Yeah, this chapter shows how different their - our - views on the JL are. In real life, I actually adore them, but hey - let's have some fun with this, no?  
**

**Until the next chapter - ciao!**

**~Nya!  
**


	2. The Sort-Of Heroes?

**Derp derp disclaimed derp derp!**

* * *

**SO, sorry about the wait, those who _actually _read this. Originally, I had made a movie theater be attacked, just days before, you know, it really happened. So I guessed that people wouldn't exactly take kindly to that, so i basically had to rewrite the whole chapter - all ten pages of it.  
**

**But I got it done now, so that's all that really matters, right? Right?  
**

**~LJ  
**

* * *

Dick had earlier invited us to sit with him and Artemis to eat with them. I sit down at the table outside with my food (which, by the way, was not nearly good enough for a prestigious school like Gotham Academy) when a certain someone appears out of nowhere, right next to me.

The only reason that I noticed the scrawny boy next to me is because he was breathing heavily. Honestly, I don't know how he got there, or when, but when I realize that the sound of his hot breath hasn't been there the whole time, I practically shriek.

"Dick!" I whisper-cry, trying not to attract too much attention to myself. It doesn't work. "When – how – what–?" The words don't seem to want to come out, but I think he gets the message.

He doesn't give me a response. All that he says instead is, "…Matt." Matt is a senior on the football team, I've learned, and one of _those _people. He's all brawn and no brain, and he intimidates the lowerclassmen into submission to his demands. A.k.a, the typical jock.

Before I can ask what he means, an angry shout echoes around the courtyard. "GRAYSON!" I facepalm.

"What did you do, Dick?" I demand softly and lethally. He smiles sheepishly.

"Oh, not much, really… He was being a jerk, so I filled his locker with…mud." Obviously, if you read between the lines, you know that it wasn't mud.

I narrow my eyes. "Where did you get…mud?" I ask, not entirely sure that I want to know. When he's about to explain, Matt comes barging around the corner, practically roaring in rage. Everyone around us is giggling and laughing at the large teenager, who, by the way, is drenched in…mud.

Dick cowers next to me, shrinking behind my figure. He's whimpering something like "Arty" or something, but I don't get what he means. Then, suddenly, Matt spots Dick trembling at my back and rages towards us.

"Grayson, who do you think you are?" Matt shouts, even though we're not even two feet away. "I thought you had learned the last time!"

I can't take this. I was bullied before by people like this, bigger kids who think they're all that, and I swore that I would never let it happen again to me or my friends – new or old. It's a horrible experience and has to be stopped. "Hey!" I stand up, pointing at the senior. "Leave him alone!"

"Or what, little girl? You can't do anything to me."

Unnoticed to him, a flash of brown, white, and blue whizzes behind him. I smirk. "You'd be surprised at what we little girls can do," Nicko growls as she grabs his arm and twists it behind his back. He howls in pain, but goes to grab her behind him with his free hand. She dodges it, letting go of his limb but elbowing him in the small of his back at the same time.

That's when I step in, kneeing him in the gut. As he doubles over, I slam my fist into his ugly face, relishing in the feel and the crunch of his now-broken nose. He howls again, just like a wild animal. He falls to the ground on his knees, groaning. If you listen carefully, a person could hear him sobbing quietly.

Dick's at our sides in a flash. "Come on," he whispers and grabs our wrists, dragging us out of the scene. Before we can leave though, I turn and spit on the ground next to Matt's head.

"That's what little girls can do."

* * *

Safely tucked in the janitor's closet, Dick rounds on us. "What were you guys thinking? You could be expelled for that!"

I raise an eyebrow. Was he really scolding us? "Um, I was thinking about saving your sorry butt from being beaten by an idiot." Nicko smiles at that.

Grayson seethes, breathing through his teeth. "That was stupid and rash of you to do. It's your first day and already you've beaten up the star quarterback of the football team! How do you think that will look to the principle or my father?"

We both frown at the same time. "What does your father have to do with this?" Nicko questions.

"He gave you guys your scholarships here!" Dick rolls his eyes.

The two of us are shocked into silence. This is one of the only times that we've both been completely quiet at the same time, with nothing to say at all. We both finally understand the situation that we have gotten ourselves in.

"So…we could lose our scholarships?" I ask tentatively. Dick doesn't answer, just looks away.

"Look, guys, I really do appreciate what you did back there. It means a lot to me." There was something in his voice, something defeated, as if he had just lost a war.

I sigh. "But that doesn't change anything, does it? We're still getting kicked out, and Matt and his broken nose still win." Next to me, Nicko clenches her small fists. She _hates_ losing a battle as much as I hate the Justice League.

Dick shrugs.

I push past him and out of the cramped janitor's closet.

* * *

The rest of the day goes by in a blur until it's time for my last period. Scarlett and I are the talk of the school now, not just the new scholarship-nobodies. Some actually seem afraid of me as I walk through the hallway to my next class.

I glare at my schedule. It would probably mean nothing tomorrow, as I wouldn't need it as I do now. Right this moment it says that I have to go to my worst subject – World History. This isn't an advanced class for me, so I should only have freshmen surrounding me.

As soon as I find it and walk in, everything stops. All of the talking, the arguing, the texting; it all just stops. It's deafeningly silent. And then it happens. A girl in the back, with her obviously-dyed red hair and flashy jewelry and _Oh-I'm-So-Much-Better_ aura, laughs. Then her friends start. Before long, the whole class is laughing, save a few.

I don't understand why. I don't get what's so funny. I don't know how the quiet had so quickly changed into this.

I don't like it.

Claiming an empty seat towards the back, I sink down and drop my bag on the floor. This was going to be _great_.

A couple of desks behind me, I hear a snotty whisper-giggle, "_That's _one of the girls who beat up Matt Earlson? She's so _small_!" There are a few giggles.

I swivel around in my chair, snarling. Scarlett says that I look like a rabid cat when I do this, so it doesn't work on her since she just bursts out laughing – unlike these prisses. In fact, they look absolutely terrified. Instantly, at their reaction, I smirk.

_Nobody_ calls me small!

* * *

Scarlett and I walk to the Home in silence. Neither of us had been called to the office to be expelled, but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't happen later.

An alarmed scream splits through the air. We both turn to the sound and without a hesitation, we both sprint towards an ally (why is it that everything bad happens in allies? What's so horrible about an ally? I don't get it…) for the source.

It was the girl from before, the one that laughed at me and called me small – I think her name was Willow or something. She's got her hands full with some creep and another goon, and she's shouting and screaming her head off. I'm tempted not to help her because of the way that she treated me before, but I know that I can't do that, no matter how nasty she is.

I'm still tempted, though. She's a screamer, apparently.

"What's wrong with you guys?!" Scarlett snarls. She's always been the talker out of the two of us. "Bunch of perverts! Get away from her!"

I charge at the first man, delivering a sharp punch to his stomach and upper-cutting his chin. His head whips back and I jump up, elbowing his throat. The man coughs and sputters and falls to the ground, where I kick him into unconsciousness.

My attention is drawn to Scarlett, who's taking on the other man by targeting his pressure points and dodging wild attacks. She seems to have the situation under control for the moment, so I turn to Willow (she still hasn't moved. Idiot.) and hiss, "Get out of here and get the police, now!" She tears her eyes from my best friend and gazes at me, too shocked to do anything. Her eyes seem empty, like she's not even here, or as if she's watching a movie. "Go now!"

My risen voice snaps her out of her trance and she takes off, heading back the way she came. Whether she goes to the police or not, I'll never know, but I look to Scarlett yet again, just waiting for a chance to help. Though, I never get said chance because she roundhouse-kicks him and hurriedly dislocates his arm from his socket, and then finally renders him unconscious by bashing his head against the brick wall of the building beside her – not hard enough to kill him, but still harshly.

"Come on," she says darkly while glaring down at her victim, "We're done here." Her head snaps up and she snatches up her bag from where we had both unceremoniously dumped them. Then she's stalking off without even looking back to see if I was following or not.

A bit surprised, I sprint after my blond friend, never looking back at the men we had left crumpled in the dust of the ally. "What about the police?" I call after her, but I receive no reply.

"We tell_ no one _about this," she hisses, suddenly turning on me once we've gotten far enough away. We have stopped, but I can tell this conversation won't take long. It's the way that Scarlett gets that means she's not going to argue – either you comply with her or you get out of her way.

"What? Why?" I cry, the adrenalin still pumping through my veins. "Don't you see? Didn't you feel how amazing it was back there, to be doing this for good?" She opens her mouth to protest, but I'm not done yet. "It was different with Matt. Those two thugs were complete strangers, but we still beat them up! I mean, did you feel the rush? I've always wanted to help people like that!"

I twirl around with my arms out like I would when I was younger. Though, I freeze at the look on Scarlett's face – it was almost painful. "Let's just go to the home," she mutters, turning around again.

I swear I heard my heart crack.

* * *

The two of us immediately run up the four flights of stairs to our floor to avoid the other orphans, but it sadly isn't to be.

"Nicko, Scarlett!" a squeaky voice squeals as we reach the last few creaky steps. A tiny bundle of children throw themselves at us, almost pushing us back down the stairwell – the first graders. The small group of six and seven year olds at the home always loved Nicko, and since I moved in and became her roommate, they've included me into their idols. Go figure.

Cara, the tallest and oldest, gave me a big bear hug. "You were gone for a _long_ time, Lettie," she says, using her nickname for me, "Did you get detention?"

I squeeze her back, making her giggle a bit. "No, goofball. Now that we go to a different school, it goes for different times. Our school starts and ends later than yours does."

They all let out a little "oh" before Cara turns to a small boy and jabs a tiny finger into his side. "I told ya so!" she mocks, "Don't ever argue with me 'cause the leader's always right!" The boy, Nicholas, only sticks out his tongue and rubs his side in response.

"We have to go do our homework now," Nicko excuses gently, "so why don't you guys go outside to run around?" The first graders happily oblige and sprint down the stairs noisily. We don't bother to tell them to slow down because we know that they won't listen, as usual.

Nicko takes out her keys from her pocket and unlocks the door before pushing it open. We've long since learned that I always forget my keys or lose them, so she has become the official key-bearer of dorm 408. Inside said room is a bunk bed, a desk with our laptops and pencils and notebooks and such on top, a lumpy chair, a calendar, and hand-drawn pictures that cover the grey walls. It's not much, but it's enough.

Once in the safety of our room, we change out of our uniforms and into comfortable clothes – I wear a pair of jeans and a purple tee and she has her favorite red-and-white-striped shirt with some jean shorts – and we finally plop down on our respective bunks – Nicko's on the top while I'm on the lower. "Do you really have homework?" I ask my brunette friend while staring at the bottom of her bed.

She snorts, "No."

"Same."

Nicko rolls over, gazing down at me from the railing. "So, how was Double A?" she inquires.

I roll my eyes, thinking back to that awkward class. "Too easy." She chuckles. "What about Super Science?"

"I already knew everything," she replies, but I can tell that she's not saying all of the details. Do I do the fun way of getting it out of her – I pester.

"And…?"

Her mental barricades shatter like glass and her eyes widen. _Ha_, I gloat in my head, smirking, _I win._

"I…I met…a guy." She cringes at my squeal. "N-no! It's not like _that_!"

Again, I roll my eyes. "What's his name?" If I could reach her, I would have poked her persistently.

"…Jason Todd…"

I grin at her. "Is _Jason _cute?"

She shrugs, locks of her short dark brown hair falling from behind her ear. "Yeah, I guess…" She hesitates. "But it really isn't like that, I swear. We just paired up for a science project 'cause we were the only ones that didn't have one."

"But at least he has to be smart, right? If he's in Super Science, he can't be all brawn and no brain."

She almost laughs. "He's a year ahead of us, dummy. So yeah, he's smart, but he's not as smart as me, because he's only advanced by one year," she explains, humored and exasperated at the same time.

"Bummer," I pout.

Nicko blinks but doesn't say anything more. I chuckle at the incredulous expression on her face. "So," I say, still hungry for more information on the mysterious boy. "Is he nice?"

"Yeah, sure. He's a bit moody sometimes, but he means well."

I scrunch up my face, as if thinking hard (which I'm not). "So, this 'Jason' is cute, he's smart, and he's usually nice. So, all in all, he's just about perfect."

"Well, I wouldn't say-" she starts, but I cut her off.

"Nope, he's perfect."

"_Nobody_ is _perfect_-"

"He is."

"But-"

"I'm right."

"Hey!"

"Shut up, I win."

"But-"

"I win."

She falls silent and glares daggers at me from her bunk above me. I smile innocently to her, 'cause she always loses fights against me. Even when she's right.

"So did he give you his phone number?" I ask, sort of changing the subject.

Nicko nods and rummages through her backpack for a few moments while I stare at the bottom of her bunk. A small piece of paper flutters down. Levitating it closer to where it was floating inches from my eyes, I read the words typed on in small but easily readable print, "**Jason Todd**." Underneath his name was his cell and home numbers.

"He has his own business card?" I ask, eyes wide and jaw agape.

Nicko makes a doubtful and almost pitying expression. "We got scholarships to the school for rich and prestigious kids that we never applied for, and you're shocked because he has a business card? I'm surprised you even got into this building without breaking your neck."

I blush bashfully (what kind of a word is "bashfully," anyway? It sounds weird). "Shut it. I'm a blond – we're allowed to have our moments."

"So I've noticed."

I pout and stick out my tongue at her like a child. "Well?" She looks at me blankly. "Are you going to call him or what?"

Nicko's face goes as red as Barbara's hair. "What? Why would I do that?"

"To, um, _work _on your Super Science _project_, why else?" _I swear, if she makes me spell it out… _"I'll go ask Mrs. Hertz if he can come over and you call him. If she says no, maybe you can go to his house instead."

"Er…okay…" she pulls out her mobile and dials. I take off, tearing down the stairwell, smiling.

* * *

_Riiiiiing…_

_Riiiiiing…_

What am I doing? What if this is too soon? What if Jason thinks I'm annoying for calling him so soon? What if he thinks I'm obsessed with him (despite the fact that I've only met him once)? What if he thinks that I'm a stalker? What if he's not at all like he was during class earlier?

_Riiiiiing… "Hello?"_

"Ack!" I cry out, surprised.

"_Is this Nicko…?"_

I grimace. He sounds annoyed. "Y-yes…sorry 'bout that…you caught me off guard…" I hope he doesn't think I'm stupid for doing that. What if he does and doesn't want to be my partner anymore?

"_You know, usually when you call someone, they pick up and answer,"_ he says dryly.

I stifle a laugh. "So I've heard," I counter. "Anyways, do you…get together to work on the project, maybe? I mean, if you're busy, I completely understand; it's no big deal if you can't-"

"_Nicko! It's fine! I'm actually not doing anything right now. My place or yours?"_

Relief washes through me. He isn't mad or annoyed or anything, plus he doesn't seem to mind my rambling. That's when Scarlett bursts in, giving me a thumbs-up gesture. "We're all good," she puffs quietly, out of breath.

"Mine is fine," I say, and then give him the Home's address. Scarlett pads silently to the bunk bed and motions for me to put him on speaker-phone, just as he asks when, My friend holds back a squeal while I answer him that now would be great. She turns quickly to the desk and snatches up a piece of scratch paper, writing something down. She then holds it up for me to see and I have to roll my eyes, because scrawled in thick black ink are the words, "**He sounds HOT!**" The last three letters were much bigger than the rest to emphasize her thoughts.

She grins like a maniac at my expression. "So," I start to say, but a loud and familiar voice in the background cuts me off.

"_Jason! Alfred has the car started already! Hurry up! Who are you on the phone with, anyway?"_

We meet each other's startled gaze. "Was that…" Scarlett whispers, pointing to the phone. I shrug as Jason yells something back, but he covers his cell so it's very muffled at best.

The boy on the other end returns. _"Sorry about that. What were you saying?"_

"Who was that, Jason?" I ask tentatively.

"_Just my _annoying _little brother, Dick. Why?"_

My eyes go wide and I think one might have twitched. Scarlett's got one hand covering her mouth, no doubt suppressing an ironic laugh. "Your bother is Dick?" I repeat, still not quite believing it. When he confirms it, a mischievous grin spreads across my face. I sneak an obvious glance at my roommate, whose face falls. "Tell Dick that Scarlett says hello." A flash of their shared smile from this morning crosses my mind, only making me grin wider.

"What?!" she cries, springing forward to snatch the phone from me. "No! Do not do that!"

Jason sounds confused and startled from the other end as he says, _"Um…who was that, Nicko?" _

_Déjà vu, much? _"Nobody important," is my reply, to Scarlett's gaining anger. "Oh, and tell Dick that he's welcome to come, too."

"_Wait, what?"_

"See you soon!"

"_But-" _I click the phone off.

I turn to see Scarlett glaring at me from the floor, silently seething. If looks could kill, I'd be rotting. "You. Are. Dead."

"Gotta catch me to kill me, blondie!" I call, leaping from my bunk, landing lightly on the wooden floor, and sprinting past my enraged friend.

* * *

I never expected them to show up in a black stretch limo. Not once did I think that they would.

Mrs. Hertz didn't, either; in fact, she blanched when they pulled up and got out at the curb in front of the Home, with the chauffeur opening their doors and everything. The first graders, who were drawing on the sidewalk with chalk, all stopped and gaped at the two teenagers that stepped out.

At least, that was what we were told after by the other kids. I never saw it happen, because at the moment I was trying to kill my best friend/roommate.

"I'm going to kill you, you little brat!" I promise rather loudly once we enter the common room. Naturally, we skid to a halt right in front of Mrs. Hertz, an amused Dick, and some kid.

A very awkward silence follows as we stand there, with Mrs. Hertz's horrified gaze boring into our skulls and Dick's rather amused smirk practically taunting us for our behavior. We must look absolutely barbaric next to these prestigious, gracious, manner-minding teenagers from the way I threatening to murder my roommate (again).

Nicko clears her throat purposefully. I quirk an eyebrow, getting her hint: she wants me to break the silence, because I'm apparently good at talking all of the time or something (insert mental shrug). So, if not just to make her happy, I thrust out a hand to the other teenager standing next to Grayson. "Scarlett. Welcome to…here."

"Um, thanks for having me. I'm Jason." His voice was nice, just like on the phone, and he wasn't bad-looking either. He had dark hair and light eyes just like his, er, brother. That's still an awkward thought.

"'sup, Dick." He nods at me, still smirking. I frown deeply at him, _so _wanting to be telepathic so I could scold him without Mrs. Hertz hearing.

I turn to Nicko. She looks very uncomfortable. "So, um, Jason, why don't you and Nicko here head up to our room and, um, start on the project. Or whatever. I don't want to be a distraction, so I'll be off somewhere with Dick, K?"

Nicko's face mixes into a compound (and she says I suck at science) of relief and fear of being left alone with her "partner." Meanwhile, I seem to have just forced Dick on a date with me accidentally. I cringe, realizing my mistake, and glance at him to gauge his reaction.

He doesn't seem to mind. In fact, his smirk turned into a mini smile.

"Sounds like a plan," Jason agrees, and the two walk upstairs and out of sight. Then it's just me and Dick (and Mrs. Hertz, who soon reluctantly leaves).

"So what do you want to do?" I ask, only he's not there anymore, but at the door.

And with yet another smirk, he replies, "You'll see," so I have no choice but to follow him to our unknown destination.

* * *

**Where is the secret place? Are the brothers falling for the most likely unstable girls, and vise versa? Find out next time in "Split Personalities!"**

**And that's what I would sound like if I were some cheesy announcer (which I most certainly am not!).  
**

**Btw, if you have any great ideas as to what should happen, who should come in, blah blah blah, please PM me. it would be much appreciated.  
**

**Insincerely,  
**

**~Le Jokerette  
**


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